tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76215297826512966852018-02-21T21:24:56.131-05:00Proactive Progressive PropagationFormerly Proactive Progressive Participation. Join the resistance! My idiosyncratic and confluent bricolage of progressive politics, the collaborative commons, next generation cognitive neuroscience, American pragmatism, de/reconstruction, dynamic systems, embodied realism, philosophy, psychodynamics, aesthetics. It ain't much but it's not nothing.Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.comBlogger9792125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-73016425174130546202018-02-21T21:24:00.007-05:002018-02-21T21:24:56.160-05:00The oceanic feeling and the path of concentration<div _emptydescriptionerrormessage="Please write something for your reply." _setvalueurl="http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/comment/update?id=5301756%3AComment%3A72014" _value="&lt;p&gt;From Mark Epstein: &lt;a rel=nofollow href=&quot;https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7246/40a41347d871748029c57df89cf8890063de.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;The psychodynamics of meditation&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;THE OCEANIC FEELING AND THE PATH OF CONCENTRATION&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;The path of concentration involves the stabilization and quiescence of the mind through the development of one-pointedness and absorption in a single object of meditation. Attention is repeatedly restricted, narrowed and focused until a kind of oneness or merger is achieved in a series of trance states known as the eight &quot;jhanas&quot; or realms of absorption. The experience is of progressively more sublime feelings of relaxation, tranquillity, contentment and bliss, culminating in &quot;formless&lt;br/&gt; states&quot; of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and &quot;neither perception nor non-perception&quot; (Goleman, 1988). A certain degree of training in concentration, or &quot;samadhi,&quot; is seen as indispensable in Buddhist meditation, but the development of only concentration is recognized as a temptation to be avoided because of the seductive and deceptive nature of these states.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;The path of concentration on a single object remains the most familiar description of meditation for Western psychodynamic interpreters of the meditative experience. Analysts have tended to focus exclusively on the oncentration practices, describing a process, in dynamic terms, of fusion of ego with ego-ideal, a merger with that aspect of the psyche that has continued to embody the lost perfection of the infantile state with which the person longs to reunite. This is grandiosity realized in full, absolutism par excellence. The self is cast off in favor of the &quot;surround&quot; (Wilber, 1984, p, 89), a progressively more ineffable other into which the meditator can dissolve. Some analysts have seen only narcissistic omnipotence shining through this oceanic feeling&quot; (Freud, 1930).&lt;/p&gt;" class="description xj_comment_editor xg_user_generated" id="desc_5301756Comment72014" style="display: block;">From Mark Epstein: <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7246/40a41347d871748029c57df89cf8890063de.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The psychodynamics of meditation</a>.<br /> <br /> "The path of concentration involves the stabilization and quiescence of the mind through the development of one-pointedness and absorption in a single object of meditation. Attention is repeatedly restricted, narrowed and focused until a kind of oneness or merger is achieved in a series of trance states known as the eight "jhanas" or realms of absorption. The experience is of progressively more sublime feelings of relaxation, tranquillity, contentment and bliss, culminating in "formless states" of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and "neither perception nor non-perception" (Goleman, 1988). A certain degree of training in concentration, or "samadhi," is seen as indispensable in Buddhist meditation, but the development of only concentration is recognized as a temptation to be avoided because of the seductive and deceptive nature of these states.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /> "The path of concentration on a single object remains the most familiar description of meditation for Western psychodynamic interpreters of the meditative experience. Analysts have tended to focus exclusively on the oncentration practices, describing a process, in dynamic terms, of fusion of ego with ego-ideal, a merger with that aspect of the psyche that has continued to embody the lost perfection of the infantile state with which the person longs to reunite. This is grandiosity realized in full, absolutism par excellence. The self is cast off in favor of the "surround" (Wilber, 1984, p, 89), a progressively more ineffable other into which the meditator can dissolve. Some analysts have seen only narcissistic omnipotence shining through this oceanic feeling" (Freud, 1930).<br /><br /> "For the danger in the path of concentration is of misunderstanding emptiness as a real nothingness, of seeing egolessness as self-annihilation and of setting up an ineffable absolute as something to be united with" (23-4).<br /> <br /></div>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-23123409316115115932018-02-21T17:17:00.001-05:002018-02-21T17:17:04.696-05:00A message from true ChristiansYou know, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianLeft/photos/a.111187555570057.11714.109200595768753/1750192288336234/?type=3&amp;theater">the ones</a> that actually follow Jesus' teachings.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kn4djAbXcSw/Wo3vzp9HAcI/AAAAAAAAE-w/YFfBdq2aBncAqpvKIApA5WbXHJ9zT1k_wCLcBGAs/s1600/true%2Bchristians.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="666" height="616" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kn4djAbXcSw/Wo3vzp9HAcI/AAAAAAAAE-w/YFfBdq2aBncAqpvKIApA5WbXHJ9zT1k_wCLcBGAs/s640/true%2Bchristians.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-36282029173046478302018-02-21T17:09:00.002-05:002018-02-21T17:09:12.044-05:00Gun laws v. gun deathsSee the chart below measuring the incidence of gun laws compared with gun deaths in US States. The result cannot be any more clear.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n4CKj3Bj1d0/Wo3tsh5D13I/AAAAAAAAE-k/QJOq7A-cH9Ewd0Z9LfrEGz-5v7RurF9FQCLcBGAs/s1600/gun%2Blaws.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="546" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n4CKj3Bj1d0/Wo3tsh5D13I/AAAAAAAAE-k/QJOq7A-cH9Ewd0Z9LfrEGz-5v7RurF9FQCLcBGAs/s1600/gun%2Blaws.jpg" /></a></div><br />Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-38422201582670009562018-02-21T17:01:00.002-05:002018-02-21T17:01:33.363-05:00Dem wins KY State House seat<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/374777-dem-wins-ky-state-house-seat-in-district-trump-won-by-49-points">In a district</a> Dump won by 49 points. According to <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C2MVeM2K7WgqmJw5RCQbWyTo2u73CX1pI8zw_G-7BJo/edit#gid=546409300">this tally</a>, the Dems have now won 38 seats formerly held by Repugs since Dump became Presidunce. A blue tidal wave is coming this November.Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-31770922255831891652018-02-21T11:33:00.002-05:002018-02-21T11:37:37.785-05:00Two laws could change US mass killingsSee Hartmann's article <a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/two-simple-laws-could-solve-americas-epidemic-violence">here</a>. The two suggested, sensible laws follow. See the link for details.<br /><ol dir="ltr"><li>Treat all semi-automatic weapons in a similar way under the same laws as fully-automatic weapons.</li><li>Regulate gun ownership and usage the same way we regulate car ownership and usage.</li></ol>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-65058158000738513682018-02-21T11:21:00.003-05:002018-02-21T11:21:30.721-05:00Framing the economic story<a href="http://publicinterest.org.uk/framing-economy-report">This</a> article discusses how we must properly frame a new economic vision if we want to garner the support necessary to enact it. You can download the full report at the link. The two complementary, broad story lines are "resisting corporate power" and "meeting our needs."<br /><br />On the first:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: 400;">"This story centres on how the economy is both unfair and broken and lays blame squarely on corporate power and wealthy elites. It argues that the economic system has been unfairly influenced by a powerful few for their own benefit, and that this manipulation is the source of the economy’s problems. This story draws either on the value</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">of</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Economic Strength </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">or the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Equality </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">as the rationale for supporting progressive policies and uses a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">reprogramming </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">metaphor to show how the economy has been intentionally designed—and can be redesigned— through policy decisions."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the second:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-weight: 400;">"This story brings into focus the priorities of individuals and society. By drawing on the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fulfillment</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, this story identifies deeper needs—beyond the need to make money—and makes the case for an economy that prioritises happiness and fulfillment over profit. It utilises a metaphor of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Economic Tracks </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">to illustrate the significant role the economy plays in structuring opportunities, making it clear that society’s current priorities result from the way the economy has been designed." </span><br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-80905719421443889062018-02-21T11:12:00.002-05:002018-02-21T11:12:34.538-05:00This is one job I'd be glad to have<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xtV4xfHs_PQ/Wo2aZCBTGXI/AAAAAAAAE-U/1nzwIps27lk91g3NZ5lIllMtDQLQaW-igCLcBGAs/s1600/gnome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xtV4xfHs_PQ/Wo2aZCBTGXI/AAAAAAAAE-U/1nzwIps27lk91g3NZ5lIllMtDQLQaW-igCLcBGAs/s400/gnome.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-18002440752052494162018-02-21T11:08:00.003-05:002018-02-21T11:08:58.692-05:00National Climate Assesment<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d0485fec-14fb-11e8-9376-4a6390addb44">It's out</a> and it's not good. Sea level rise is accelerating and “temperatures over Europe and North America today are the highest they have been in 11,000 years.” There's also an increase in intensity and severity of storms. So yeah, let's just deny and ignore this like it's just a natural cycle that will turn around without interference. Just apply laissez faire economics to the whether.Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-40250442734271303682018-02-21T11:01:00.001-05:002018-02-21T11:01:23.426-05:00Dump's budget cuts Medicare, Medicare and Social SecurityRemember when he promised not to do this. Well his budget <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2018/02/19/attention-seniors-trumps-budget-is-coming-for-your-medicare-benefits/?utm_term=.458c38ba97bf">is available</a> for everyone to see and the facts are quite the contrary. I know, Dumpsters will call this reality fake news and keep they head in the sand (and up their asses).<br /><br />"He proposes cuts of over $1.8 trillion to the three programs. On top of that, he proposes to slash Meals on Wheels, home heating assistance, and other programs on which seniors rely. It is noteworthy that Republicans just passed, for almost the same price tag, a huge tax giveaway to their donors. So that’s the Republican plan: save money by gutting programs for the elderly and transfer the savings to the billionaire class.”Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-67099099762519680972018-02-21T10:53:00.003-05:002018-02-21T10:53:59.728-05:00Talking to God or ultimate reality<span class=" UFICommentActorAndBody"><span><span><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span>This also goes for shentong Buddhists that are certain they communicate with ultimate reality during altered states.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mGkh0577Ay8/Wo2WBglmGmI/AAAAAAAAE-I/5a5lxJBdRuAf6CDDwMB6lNTD4EJjQBpagCLcBGAs/s1600/god.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mGkh0577Ay8/Wo2WBglmGmI/AAAAAAAAE-I/5a5lxJBdRuAf6CDDwMB6lNTD4EJjQBpagCLcBGAs/s640/god.png" width="640" /></a></div>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-85164994550172430012018-02-20T13:30:00.003-05:002018-02-20T13:30:40.851-05:00PA Supreme Court draws new voting districtsThe districts were formerly gerrymandered by the Repugnantans to attain a lopsided victory in an otherwise fairly balanced State. The Supreme Court ordered them to re-draw them or they would do it themselves. Since the Repugs refused to do it it was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/19/upshot/pennsylvania-new-house-districts-gerrymandering.html?mtrref=m.facebook.com">done for them</a>.<br /><br />"Democrats couldn’t have asked for much more from the new map. It’s arguably even better for them than the maps they proposed themselves. Over all, a half-dozen competitive Republican-held congressional districts move to the left, endangering several incumbent Republicans, one of whom may now be all but doomed to defeat, and improving Democratic standing in two open races."Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-27054679636943206892018-02-20T13:14:00.002-05:002018-02-20T13:14:19.593-05:00Jamie Lee Stand UpOn the Corden show. Funny stuff.<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sjA2HR7ELIQ" width="560"></iframe>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-80303089715715291022018-02-20T12:49:00.002-05:002018-02-20T12:52:14.516-05:00The Young Turks lampoons Fergie's national anthemFunny recreation of Fergie's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMA2iF6RuXk">disastrous rendition</a> of the national anthem at the NBA All-Star game.<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nTFphMGwFUQ" width="560"></iframe>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-18283469467013672932018-02-20T12:28:00.003-05:002018-02-20T12:28:46.637-05:00Mueller charges lawyer for lying in Gates interactionWe get one step closer to Dump.<br /><br />"Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed a charge against lawyer Alex Van Der Zwaan for lying to investigators about his interaction with former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates in September 2016. CNN's Jessica Schneider reports."<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YsM97t6-4go" width="560"></iframe>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-87327880769969150202018-02-20T12:26:00.000-05:002018-02-20T12:26:34.474-05:00Repugnantans are smearing the shooting victimsAmazing, isn't it? Since the surviving Florida students are speaking up for gun control there is now a repugnantan smear campaign against them claiming they are being funded and provoked by George Soros! <a href="https://youtu.be/LO-2ZpKFP6I">This</a> video shows one of their spokes-villains throwing out this outlandish theory, which the video below is of said students refuting the nut job conspiracy theory.<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hzx-ykUBWqU" width="560"></iframe>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-77248544434555140792018-02-20T11:53:00.003-05:002018-02-20T11:53:56.844-05:00Trickle-down economics is not capitalismBy <a href="http://evonomics.com/trickle-down-economics-is-not-true-capitalism-beinhocker/">Eric Beinhocker</a>. Subtitled "The rise of rentiers and the destruction of the middle class." He thinks Ayn Rand would be aghast at what today passes for free enterprise! Today's corporations are not bastions of independent, innovative entrepreneurs winning the competitive race but giant corporations paying off government to maintain oligopolies. Rand wrote specifically against this phenomenon in <i>Atlas Shrugged</i>. Of course these oligarchs distort Rand's idealism as cover for what they are doing but they are nothing like Rand's hero in the book.<br /><br />"Trickle-down economics may work in textbook economic theory with ivory-tower assumptions about perfectly rational people and perfectly efficient markets. But in the real world of politics and interests, it simply provides a cover story for rentier economics. It dresses up anti-market behavior in free-market rhetoric."Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-71753566464708334912018-02-20T11:21:00.005-05:002018-02-20T11:21:33.329-05:00How we fight fascismBy <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-we-fight-fascism/">Chris Hedges</a>. An excellent explanation on why and how Dump came to power, given how most of us no longer trust the establishment because of how we've been so badly neglected and abused. So instead of focusing on the cause of this problem we are led by our establishment induced poverty to blame each other under the flag of fascism. Some excerpts below. Sound at all familiar? Continue reading at the link on how we fight it, which sounds a <i>lot</i> like Sanders and Warren.<br /><br />"She [Clara Zetkin] warned that the longer the stagnation and rot of a dysfunctional democracy went unaddressed, the more attractive fascism would become. And as 21st-century America’s own capitalist democracy disintegrates, replaced by a naked kleptocracy that disdains the rule of law, the struggle of past anti-fascists mirrors our own. History has amply illustrated where political paralysis, economic decline, hypermilitarism and widespread corruption lead."<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />"When capitalism enters a period of crisis and breakdown of the democratic institutions that once offered the possibility of reform and protection from an uninhibited assault by the capitalist class. The unchecked capitalist assault pushes the middle class, the bulwark of a capitalist democracy, into the working class and often poverty. It strips workers of all protection and depresses wages. The longer the economic and social stagnation persists, the more attractive fascism becomes. Zetkin would have warned us that Donald Trump is not the danger; the danger is the growing social and economic inequality that concentrates wealth in the hands of an oligarchic elite and degrades the lives of citizens." Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-91158599172103357432018-02-20T11:06:00.002-05:002018-02-20T11:06:34.130-05:00Dump ranked worst Presidunce in US historyAccording to <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-ranked-worst-president-215700182.html">this</a> survey of 200 political scientists from "the American Political Science Association’s section on presidents and executive politics." I They rate on a scale of 1 to 100, with Dump receiving an average score of 12.34. Even conservatives didn't think much of Dump, voting him just 5 from the bottom. So you are the best at something Conald Dump: Being the worst Presidunce ever!Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-26313601388254074382018-02-19T19:54:00.001-05:002018-02-19T19:54:03.094-05:00The Third Industrial Revolution: A radically new sharing economyNew video. The blurb:<br /><br />The global economy is in crisis. The exponential exhaustion of natural resources, declining productivity, slow growth, rising unemployment, and steep inequality, forces us to rethink our economic models. Where do we go from here? In this feature-length documentary, social and economic theorist Jeremy Rifkin lays out a road map to usher in a new economic system.<br /><br />A Third Industrial Revolution is unfolding with the convergence of three pivotal technologies: an ultra-fast 5G communication internet, a renewable energy internet, and a driverless mobility internet, all connected to the Internet of Things embedded across society and the environment.<br /><br />This 21st century smart digital infrastructure is giving rise to a radical new sharing economy that is transforming the way we manage, power and move economic life. But with climate change now ravaging the planet, it needs to happen fast. Change of this magnitude requires political will and a profound ideological shift.<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QX3M8Ka9vUA" width="560"></iframe>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-52580170424636021182018-02-19T19:18:00.002-05:002018-02-19T19:18:28.533-05:00The meaning of America on President's DayA powerful, profound <a href="http://robertreich.org/post/170988012325">statement</a> by Robert Reich, copied below, on what America once was, what it has become, and hopefully what it can be yet again. Amen brother Reich.<br /><br />"When Trump and his followers refer to “America,” what do they mean? Some see a country of white English-speaking Christians.Others want a land inhabited by self-seeking individuals free to accumulate as much money and power as possible, who pay taxes only to protect their assets from criminals and foreign aggressors. Others think mainly about flags, national anthems, pledges of allegiance, military parades, and secure borders.<br /><br /><div class="caption">Trump encourages a combination of all three – tribalism, libertarianism, and loyalty. But the core of our national identity has not been any of this. It has been found in the ideals we share – political equality, equal opportunity, freedom of speech and of the press, a dedication to open inquiry and truth, and to democracy and the rule of law.<br /><br />We are not a race. We are not a creed. We are a conviction – that all people are created equal, that people should be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, and that government should be of the people, by the people, and for the people. Political scientist Carl Friedrich, comparing Americans to Gallic people, noted that “to be an American is an ideal, while to be a Frenchman is a fact.” That idealism led Lincoln to proclaim that America might yet be the “last best hope” for humankind. It prompted Emma Lazarus, some two decades later, to welcome to American the world’s “tired, your poor/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”<br /><br />It inspired the poems of Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes, and the songs of Woody Guthrie. All turned their love for America into demands that we live up to our ideals. “This land is your land, this land is my land,” sang Guthrie. “Let America be America again,” pleaded Hughes: “The land that never has been yet – /And yet must be – the land where every man is free. / The land that’s mind – the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME –.”<br /><br />That idealism sought to preserve and protect our democracy – not inundate it with big money, or allow one party or candidate to suppress votes from rivals, or permit a foreign power to intrude on our elections. It spawned a patriotism<b>&nbsp;</b>that once required all of us take on a fair share of the burdens of keeping America going – paying taxes in full rather than seeking loopholes or squirreling money away in foreign tax shelters, serving in the armed forces or volunteering in our communities rather than relying on others to do the work.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />These ideals compelled us to join together for the common good – not pander to bigotry or divisiveness, or fuel&nbsp;racist or religious or ethnic divisions. The idea of a common good was once widely understood and accepted in America. After all, the U.S. Constitution was designed&nbsp;for “We the people” seeking to “promote the general welfare” – not for “me the narcissist seeking as much wealth and power as possible.”&nbsp;<br /><br />Yet the common good seems to have disappeared. The phrase is rarely uttered today, not even by commencement speakers and politicians.There’s growing evidence of its loss – in CEOs who gouge their customers and loot their corporations; Wall Street bankers who defraud their investors; athletes involved in doping scandals; doctors who do unnecessary procedures to collect fatter fees; and film producers and publicists who choose not to see that a powerful movie mogul they depend on is sexually harassing and abusing women.<br /><br />We see its loss in politicians who take donations from wealthy donors and corporations and then enact laws their patrons want, or&nbsp;shutter the government when they don’t get the partisan results they seek. And in a&nbsp;president of the United States&nbsp;who has repeatedly lied about important issues,&nbsp;refuses to put his financial&nbsp;holdings into a blind trust&nbsp;and personally profits from his office, and foments racial and ethnic conflict. This unbridled selfishness, this contempt for the public, this win-at-any-cost mentality, is eroding America.<br /><br />Without binding notions about right and wrong, only the most unscrupulous get ahead. When it’s all about winning, only the most unprincipled succeed. This is not a society. It’s not even a civilization, because there’s no civility at its core. If we’re losing our national identity it’s not because we now come in more colors, practice more religions, and speak more languages than we once did. <br />It is because we are forgetting the real meaning of America – the ideals on which our nation was built. We are losing our sense of the common good. </div>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-55686830760434737592018-02-19T18:57:00.001-05:002018-02-19T19:11:21.814-05:00How fake news helped elect DumpIn Rosenstein's <a href="http://integralpostmetaphysicalnonduality.blogspot.com/2018/02/dc-grand-jury-indicts-13-russians.html">announcement</a> about the Russian indictments he said: "There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election" (5:28). Just because the indictment didn't address the issue doesn't mean it had no effect. <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/study-suggests-trump-may-owe-2016-victory-fake-news/">This</a> recent study indeed shows that the very conduct outlined in the indictment likely did exactly that. "<a href="https://u.osu.edu/cnep/files/2015/03/Fake-News-Piece-for-The-Conversation-with-methodological-appendix-11d0ni9.pdf">Our study concludes</a> that fake news most likely did have a substantial impact on the voting decisions of a strategically important set of voters." The study was focused on former Obama voters who voted for Dump. "Our survey data show that 10 percent of these former Obama voters cast ballots for Trump in 2016, 4 percent switched to minor parties and 8 percent did not vote." The fake news stories that flipped these voters were the following:<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />1. Hillary Clinton's in in very poor health due to a serious illness.<br />2.&nbsp; During her time as US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton approved weapons sales to Islamic jihadists, including ISIS.<br />3. Pope Francis endorsed Dump for Presidunce prior to the election.<br /><br />The article also debunks the other explanations for the defection.<br /><br />"Though our evidence does not 'prove' that belief in fake news 'caused' these former Obama voters to defect from the Democratic candidate in 2016, our study results suggest that it is highly likely that the pernicious pollution of our political discourse by fake news was sufficient to influence the outcome of what was a very close election."Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-57719369435786825952018-02-19T18:34:00.001-05:002018-02-19T18:34:24.122-05:00Fact Check: The Russian indictments show clear support for DumpSee the article <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2018/02/spinning-russian-indictment/">here</a>. It quotes <a href="https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download">the indictment</a>: "By early to mid-2016, Defendants’ operations included supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump ('Trump Campaign') and disparaging Hillary Clinton” (p. 4). See the article and indictment for the timeline and the details.Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-27386120687362560592018-02-19T14:08:00.002-05:002018-02-19T14:08:26.999-05:00CabFair ethical alternative to Uber82% of Londoners <a href="https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/new-poll-82-of-uber-users-ready-to-quit-the-service/2018/02/19">would use an Uber alternative</a> that had better rights for drivers, and 54% would pay more for that ethical alternative. So reports the <a href="http://neweconomics.org/">New Economics Foundation</a>, which is also working on that alternative called CabFair that would be owned by the drivers.Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-82830198006962924542018-02-19T13:50:00.001-05:002018-02-19T13:53:12.584-05:00Dump budget eliminates funding for low-income home heatingIt's <a href="https://apnews.com/3218910423c3415ba4dba6a6a5b25dbb/Trump-once-again-wants-to-cut-energy-assistance-to-the-poor">right there</a> in his budget. And this after giving <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/12/01/the-gop-plan-is-the-biggest-tax-increase-in-american-history-by-far/">$6 trillion </a>in the tax scam to the 1%. How caring and compassionate our Presidunce is. To the rich, that is. The rest of us can literally freeze to death. Keep in mind the Repugnantans are complicit in this and get out and vote this year.Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621529782651296685.post-46797418714330424912018-02-19T13:27:00.000-05:002018-02-19T13:27:26.265-05:00Dump budget cuts 16% from national gun background check And why haven't we heard about this on corporate media? That's a <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/374461-schumer-trump-budget-would-cripple-gun-background-checks">$12 million cut</a>. <br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e5T143WAEMQ" width="560"></iframe>Edward Bergehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13864657929019204993noreply@blogger.com0